Abel’s and Cain’s Offering
Adapted from an article by Rev. F. M. Kerr

Text – "And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering; but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect." Genesis 4:4, 5.

Some, by taking only a surface view, have supposed that these offerings were of equal merit, and have been at a loss for a reason why the Lord should accept the one and reject the other.

No doubt Cain was sincere and honestly desires to engage in the worship of God and acknowledge his obligation to Him. And, as he was a tiller of the ground, it was just as natural for him to bring "of the fruits of the ground" for an offering unto the Lord as it was for Abel to bring "of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof." They both brought of what they possessed, and if the kind of offering had been left to their choice it certainly would have been all right for Cain to make an offering of the fruits of the ground, and the Lord most assuredly would have accepted it. But by carefully searching the Scriptures we find that after the fall God made a gracious revelation to man – that it was only by the use of sacrifices as sin-offerings he could approach unto his Creator.

It is said that when the eyes of our first parents were opened to see their sin and guilt before God, and that they were, they made for themselves aprons of fig-leaves; thus representing the fruitless efforts of man to hide his sin by self-righteousness. But the Lord made coats of skins and clothed them. Now where did these skins come from? Does this not imply the institution of sin offerings? Undoubtedly it does. And this was, by divine appointment, the only acceptable mode of worship for sinful man. These sacrifices, being offered to God as sin offerings, pointed to Christ as our atoning sacrifice; and the coats made of the skins of these sacrifices pointed to Christ’s righteousness, wherewith we must be clothed if we would be saved.

We see, then that Cain rejected the mode of worship which was of divine appointment, and invented a mode of worship to suit himself. He rejected God’s will and went according to his own will, which was nothing more than will-worship; and all such worship is sin. (Col. 3:23) If we would be accepted of God we must worship him in his own appointed way. The Lord Jesus Christ, as the lamb of God for sinners slain, is the way of life. "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) Cain set aside God’s will for his own will, and thus became a rebel against God. The essence of true religion is humble submission to God’s will; to say, with the Master, "Not my will, but thine, be done." (Luke 22:42) Human will-worship is so abominable in the sight of the Lord that he struck Uzziah with leprosy for usurping the priestly office. (2 Chronicles 26:19-21) And Nadab and Abihu were stricken dead for burning strange incense. (Leviticus 10:1-3) Saul, for his will-worship, was doomed to lose his throne (1 Samuel 13:8-14)

The Lord had no respect unto Cain and his offering because he was guilty of heinous sin. There was as wide difference between the offering of Cain and that of Abel as there is between falsehood and truth. In fact, they represent:

Two Religious Systems

Abel made his offering according to God’s plan of salvation. But Cain, like his mother Eve, desiring to be wise above what is written, was deceived and led astray by the old Serpent, and, "intruding into those things which he had not seen, became vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind." (Col. 2:18) And, becoming "wise in his own conceit," he was a fit tool for the devil to use. That old deceiver, writhing under the penalty pronounced upon him – that the seed of the woman should bruise his head – and seeing that "man is a religious animal" and must have a religion, and knowing that if he received God’s religion he would be saved, devised the scheme of a counterfeit religion for the purpose of blinding and leading man down to perdition. This counterfeit religion, while resembling the genuine as closely as possible, must leave out the essentially saving part of it and lead the souls of men away from the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ. So Satan, having prepared Cain for his purpose, used him as a

FOUNDER OF A FALSE RELIGION

Some seem to think there is but one religion; that all religion is the same. But this is a mistake. There is only one true religion, but there is also a false religion; and this false religion bears the mark of Cain its founder, "who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous." (1 John 3:12) The devil "was a murderer from the beginning," (John 8:44) and Cain as his servant and agent soon became the persecutor and murderer of his brother, because his brother was righteous. And "all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel" down to the present time, has been shed be the devotees of a false religion. In the false church will be "found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth." (Rev. 18:24) And God will judge "the great whore which did corrupt the earth with her fornications, and will avenge the blood of his servants at her hand." (Rev. 19:2)

Let us notice some of the differences between Abel’s and Cain’s offerings:

Abel’s was a Sin Offering. "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh." (Heb. 11:4.) It is evident that Abel’s faith was in the promised Savior, who should bruise the serpent’s head. Cain believed there was a God, and that he ought to worship Him. "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." (James 2:19) But Abel not only believed there is one God, but also believed in "one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," who would give "himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." (1 Tim. 2:5 and 6) He realized in his heart no doubt, that salvation "is of faith, that it might be by grace" (Rom. 4:16), and deeply felt that he was a sinner in the sight of god, and that he deserved to die. But according to God’s gracious word, he believed in the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8), and "brought of the firstlings of his flock," believing that its blood was typical of "the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God" (Heb. 9:14); and that "He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2.)

But Cain made simply a thank-offering. He disregarded the instruction God had given him and, not realizing that he was a guilty sinner before God, did not believe it necessary to bring a sin-offering, to make an atonement for sin; therefore, his offering was in unbelief. He believed in the system of salvation by works and thought it was sufficient for him to live a moral life, and bring a thank-offering to show that he was thankful for what God had given him. So we hear people say, even in this day, that all God requires of us in order to be saved is just to do right and be thankful to Him for what He gives us. They are depending for acceptance with God upon their honesty and good, moral character; upon works of righteousness which they can do. Poor deluded souls! They do not know they are following Cain the first murderer and the founder of the false religious system of salvation by works. "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." – Titus 3:5.

Abel believed in the depravity of human nature and, therefore, made his offering in humility. He believed the third article of the G. G. Articles of Faith: "That we are fallen and depraved creatures and cannot extricate ourselves from our fallen situation by any ability we possess by nature." He realized that "by nature he was a child of wrath, even as others." – Eph. 2:3. He, no debut, felt that he was not only a sinner, but that his very nature was corrupt; that his "heart was deceitful above all tings and desperately wicked." And no one could fully know the depths of the wickedness of his heart but the "Lord who searcheth the heart and tryeth the reins." - Jer. 17:9, 10. He came before the Lord in poverty of spirit, like the Publican who went up into the temple to pray, but stood "afar off and woud not life up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." The Savior tells us that this publican went down to his house justified: "for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbelth himself shall be exalted." Abel, as he led the lamb away from the flock to be slain, realized that it was his own life, and not the life of the lamb, which was forfeited. He looked upon the lamb as typical of the promised seed, who should be "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners," and who would offer up himself as a propitiation for sin. And he looked by faith upon the precious blood of the Savior who was to come, as "a lamb without blemish and without spot." 1 Peter 1:19. Although he felt that he was a guilty, condemned sinner, yet he believed that God could be just, and at the same time, the justifier of him who believed in the promised Savior. Rom. 3:26. As Abel humbled himself in the sight of God, and by faith in the promised Messiah offered his sacrifice, therefore the Lord had respect unto him and to his offering, and gave him the witness that he was accepted as righteous.
On the other hand, Cain believed in:

THE GOODNESS OF HUMAN NATURE and therefore made his offering in pride. He prided himself on the goodness of his nature and character. He no doubt felt that God was under obligation to respect as noble and great a man as he was: and that he deserved great credit and honor for making this offering. See how his pride flamed out in anger when his offering was rejected. He was just the same kind of a man as the Pharisee, who "stood and prayed thus with himself: god, I thank thee that I am not as other men are; extortioners, unjust, adulterers or even as this publican. I give tithes of all that I possess." (Luke 18:11,12) Yes Cain was a self-righteous Pharisee – the founder of the pharisaic religion. And from that time until the present he has had his followers, who trust in themselves that they are righteous, and believe in the native purity of human nature. And in these last days, the old serpent in his cunning craftiness has invented the false evolution theory, in order to bolster up his counterfeit religion.

The choicest tools of the devil are the wise of this world; hence he is instilling this poisonous theory into our schools. It just suits the fallen nature of man, and he will, no doubt, go on in vanity and pride, trusting in his own wisdom, power and goodness, until "that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, shewing himself that he is God." Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan;" "whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." – 2 Thess. 2:3, 4, 8, 9. This like most, if not all, false theories, is distorted truth. There is such a thing as human development. We are to "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 3:18, and to "go on unto perfection." Heb. 6:1. The Bible tells us that "God created man in his own image," but that he fell and became corrupt before God. But these boasted evolution theories say that Adam’s grandfather was a monkey, and his father was a "missing link," and that man, instead of falling, has been lifting himself higher and higher until the present time.

In This World Able was hated, persecuted, notwithstanding the fact that the Lord had respect unto him, and accepted his offering; yea, he was murdered, and thus became the first martyr, and an example to God’s people in all ages, that "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." – 2 Timothy 3:12. On the other hand, Cain lived a long, prosperous life, and became rich and great, and no doubt, was honored by the world as a good citizen. But, when the vail is lifted, we see that:

In the other world, Able was saved in heaven, there to enjoy the glory of God forever, and all the glorious things which God has prepared for those who love him. While, we have no doubt, Cain "lifted up his eyes in hell, being in torment:" where "the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever; and they have no rest day nor night." We close with an:

INVITATION TO LOST SINNERS

The glad tidings of salvation are for those who feel, and are willing to confess that they are guilty, lost sinners. The gospel is not for self-righteous, self-sufficient, impenitent sinners. But God commands all men every where to repent, and when sinners become penitent, we are authorized to offer them salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ. The soul must realize that it is lost before it can be saved. Dear lost soul, if you feel that you are a wretched, undone sinner, you are invited to come to Jesus and be saved. Come, we beseech you, forsaking and confessing your sins. Come and accept the Lamb of God, as your offering for sin and you will be accepted and saved from all your sins. The great heart of our Savior goes out to you in love and he pleads with you to come to Him and be saved. Will you not yield now at this very moment to his loving call?